Interviewing the BBN housemates has been a learning curve for me. This particular interview was the most challenging and I had doubts about whether or not to do it. The doubt was not there because I found Joan not to be interesting, She is damn interesting, alright! Her "I don't care attitude" gets people talking and she is a phenomenal and very strong woman. My challenge about interviewing Joan was because of my one sided love-hate relationship with her. During her 6 week stay in the BBN house, she was my least favourite person and she's actually one of the few people that I voted out.
(Oops! Did I just reveal that? Ag the game is over now so who cares? mmmhhhh Right, Joan?)
What I did not like about Joan in the house was what I perceived as domineering nature and I wondered if I would manage to get her to open up and talk freely if BIG BROTHER himself could not do it. During one of her Diary Sessions, Big Brother asked if there was anything she wanted to discuss with him and she told him that whether or not she tells him will not make a difference.Yeah, Biggie has powers but he could not get through to Joan. I'm sure Big Brother also voted for her to leave the house coz she really challenged him during their one on one sessions!! She would be laughing with the housemates but the minute she walks into the diary, her facial expression would say "Can we please get this over and done with?"
Three weeks after I got Joan's number, I eventually plucked up enough courage to give her a call and to be quite honest guys, I was scared of her!
Now that I have spoken to her though, I really think she is just misunderstood. She is a straightfoward person, she speaks her mind, she loves her 6 year old daughter very much and she does not apologize for who or what she is. I think a lot of people can learn from her in that regard.
Here's how my one to one chat with Joan went:
Brown Shuga: Hey Joan, wow gal, you are doing great! I hear you just shot your 3rd movie? What roles did you get to play?
Joan: The first one was a lead role in a romance about a woman whose man died and she keeps getting flashbacks about him and the other two were also ok.
BS: And I bet you didn’t audition for any one of them??
Joan: No, I didn’t. BS: How difficult was it for you because you just jumped right into it with no training whatsoever?
Joan: Actually, I had done a movie 2 years ago and I didn’t think I’d do more movies again but hey it happened! The director that I worked with on the first one also recommended me for other movies so it wasn't that difficult.
BS: Now girl, you made the cover of True Love West Africa!! You know how many women dream of making it on the cover of a Magazine!! How did that feel?
Joan: I am still the same old Joan, nothing’s changed really. I had several interviews after I left the house and each time they would ask me the same questions over and over again and I of course would repeat the same answers. There was nothing different about that one.
BS: Was there anything in that article which was not true?
Joan: Yes, for starters, my grandfather’s name was spelt wrong. They also seemed to have left out a lot of things, e.g. I had a couple of jobs and I put myself through secondary school and university. Just a couple of things were left out but maybe they did not appeal to them but what I actually wanted to highlight with some of those things was that even if you are down in the dumps and at the lowest point in your life, you can still make it through hardwork and determination.
BS: I read the interview and I was really amazed at the hardships that you went through. Your mother leaving you at such a young age, your grandfather’s passing away, followed by your grandmother’s just 3 months after the birth of your child. What kept you going?
Joan: You do what you can to survive. BS: How does your daughter feel about her mom’s new found star status?
Joan: Nothing, she doesn’t notice that I'm famous. I don’t get that much attention because if I’m not working, I am always at home.. I don’t go out much to functions etc, I just stay at home and spend time with her. BS: Why is that?
Joan: I just think it’s an excuse for people to go drinking and I don’t bother because then I have to worry about what to wear and things like that, I just don’t bother. BS: That’s also my reason for being a couch potato…I don’t like stressing about what to wear and all those things. Back to your time in the BBN house. How do you feel about having left so early? Did you ever look at the tasks and wish you were there?
Joan: No, I’m glad I wasn’t there because I think I would have rebelled and refused to do some of those tasks. Some of them were just ridiculous. For example, the singing task, I didn’t see myself doing that. Obviously there were people in the background trying to get a reaction but I felt it was not fair because not everybody is poetic and can write songs.
BS: I can actually picture you telling Biggie that! You met your soul mate in the house and you guys had such chemistry, what makes Chinedu so special?
Joan: He is very sensible and sensible people are hard to come by. He is also very dependable and is someone that I know I can rely on. We can have a flowing conversation without me having to repeat myself because he understands me. 
BS: I actually got a chance to observe you two closely when I met you and I really went "wow".What irritates you about him coz we all know there were times when he irritated the living hell out of you?
Joan: He does irritate me sometimes but he’s my boyfriend so I have to deal with it. Mostly he irritates me when he starts with his funny Ibo accent, I don’t like it.
BS: Could you please give me your top 5 housemates and describe each one of them in just one word
Joan: Frank – Very Energetic
Chinedu – Dependable and Outspoken
Helen – Very Motherly
Joseph –
BS: (I interrupt her here) Joseph is in your top 5????
Joan: Surprisingly but yes he is…
Joseph because he is very gentlemanly and he minds his own business.
Sandy – Also very energetic and loud but she’s also very dependable.
BS: I am surprised by the exclusion of Ebuka in your top 5.
Joan: Yes, he was my favourite in the house but has irritated me a lot since we got out. On second thoughts, please replace Sandy with Ebuka because he’s a people’s person.
BS: Speaking about Joseph, in your True Love interview they asked you why things never worked out between Joe & Maureen and your answer was : & I quote:
“ I don’t know and I don’t care, really. He can be into men or women, but as long as he doesn’t touch Chinedu’s butt. I’m not bothered". Now gal, why did you say that, considering the rumour about his sexual orientation?
Joan: That was a lie. I didn’t say that and that was really unfair. Even if I had said such a thing they should have excluded it from the interview. I know that people have issues with him and his lifestyle and they talk a lot but I did not say that. I don’t get along with some of the housemates but I am very careful with my words.
BS: Did he ask you about it?
Joan: No, like I said, he is too much of a gentleman. He did not ask me, I’m sure he just wanted to put that behind him. BS: I hear you enjoyed your visit to SA?
Joan: It was nice but we came there at the wrong time because it was cold and we didn’t go to places we would have loved to go to. We were very restricted.
The place is organized and neat though, that’s what I liked. The people were also very friendly. BS: Thanks so what are your plans then for the rest of 2006?
Joan: I want to do more movies, you know I gotta get paid, I have a child to feed and a family. Some appeared now that I’m in the lime light. BS: How well do these movies actually pay?
Joan: They don’t pay well at all, they pay *bleep!*. I can’t even book a trip to London or SA with what they pay.
I guess I have to start at the bottom like everyone else and keep climbing the ladder from there. BS: Are you close with any of the other housemates, except Chinedu, of course?
Joan: I actually share a house with Helen and my daughter so you can say that Helen and I are close.
BS: And what do you do to relax when you aren't working?
Joan: I watch a lot of movies, I recently watched Mama Jack and it was very funny.
BS: I’m not really a fan of Leon Schuster movies, I haven’t seen that one.
Joan: I have seen some of his stupid movies but this one is really nice, it’s not that silly and I think you should give it a try, it was really great.
BS: So what kind of music do you listen to because your man is into Hip Hop?
Joan: I am so not into rap music! I actually thought I’d end up liking it because of him but I still don’t like it.
I listen to a lot of old music because I grew up with my grandparents. I like music but a lot of old school stuff.
BS: Joan, thank you very much for your time, I really wish you all the best in your career.
Joan: You're welcome.
BS: I will call you every now and again to check on how you're doing and do give me a call the next time you're in SA.
Joan: I certainly will, thanks a lot.
After the interview, I sighed with relief after realizing that my fear of her was baseless. This gorgeous woman does not bite, like me, she is a single mother who is crazily in love with her child, she knows what she wants and she's going to get it! Joan, go represent!!!